Amboseli Park

[Ross]

It is amazing to be sitting here and doing a report one year after the event but such was the impact this park had on me.

Amboseli is known for it's large numbers of elephants and Cynthia Moss is responsible for bringing Echo and her family into our living rooms. Witnessing the Grand Matriarch Echo giving birth and of course Eli with his crooked knees.

It has been one year since my return from Kenya but the memories are stronger as ever.

I have done a few searches on the net about Amboseli and I came across a few blogs and a few people mentioned the lack of animals. I also wanted to share my lack or researching the comapny I originally was going with and in hope that people will learn from my mistake.

 

I wanted to visit Amboseli Park mainly because of Cynthia Moss' love for elephants and of course the chance to see the Majestic Kilimajaro Mountain so one day while in Nakuru I learned about an agent that organises safaris and I went to see him. (mistake number one) Never do business deals with anyone who uses a hotel hallway as an office and especially when he deals with a third party in Nairobi. To cut a long story short, he was to accompany me to Nairobi and then meet the owner of the company and leave from there. We arrived only to find out that the trip was cancelled because of lack of numbers. I was not happy and they knew it!!

So they started to ring around to see if other safari companies were going to Amboseli and finally they found a driver who had two passengers and were on their way to Nairobi from Samburu. A new deal was cut and finally I was on my way to Amboseli!!

The Kenyan country side is really incredible especially when you get excited as I do when seeing a zebra by the side of the road. Finally we arrived a small town near the border of Tanzania and we spent the night there.

It was a fascinating little town for there was quite a large number of Muslims, an even greater number of Maasai and with the odd Mzungu looking at souvenirs.

In the morning we headed off and I look at the road ahead. "this can not be real" The road was so bad that the drivers created a lane by the side of the road and we had 80 kms of this but after all, this is Africa.

The eighty kilometres were filled with scattered deserted churches. Looking out the window we could the odd Maasai with his cattle and of course lots of impala, gazelles and zebras. There is something special about the African bush especially when you see the beautiful acasias.

Locals have taken to filling the pot holes with dirt and in hope travellers would stop and give them the odd sheiling so we had a few stops so we could hand out loose change.

Finally we arrived and my excitment was very obvious. At the gate we were greeted by the Maasai selling their jewellery and after paying the entrance fee we were on our way. My first impression was that it's a desert but a desert filled zebras??? There was zebras every where and at times when the heat was so intense, they looked as though they were disappearing into the thin air.

 

Getting closer to the swamp, we could see large heards of bufalo every where and then the elephants.

Elephant herds every where. Fish eagles and many other birds were present and then I saw my very first hyena.

The park has many faces for at places it's like a desert and in other places it's very lush with palm trees and large acasia trees.

Because of the swamp which gets fed by the snows of the Kilimanjaro the animals do not migrate therefore they live permanently in the park.

If you happen to go to Amboselli, do not forget your sleeping bag and warm clothes for the nights get very cold and do not rely on the electric fences for elephants just push them down and I learned this the hard way. (you can read my other report on Amboseli)

Night time was filled with listening to the hyenas and lions roaring. To hear a lion roar and to hear his roar as clear as we did was truly just the best experience, and it will stay with me for a long time.

Unfortunately though the only lions we saw were too far away from the bus and I could not get a decent picture of them even though I use a 400mm lens.

Beacuse it was the dry season, there was a lot of dust around and taking a decent picture of the mountain also proved dificult.

Amboseli was an amazing experience, lots of animals including hippo, elephants every where and of course the contrast between the diferent parts of the park make it even more interesting.

 

Amboseli gave me more I than I ever expected and will definitely be going back

[Nyamera]

Ross, Amboseli is another park I haven’t visited, but have to visit. I’ve just found Cynthia Moss’s “Elephant Memories” at a second-hand bookshop. Your zebra and elephant pictures illustrate perfectly the contrasts of the park. Though I’ve seen pictures where it’s much greener. Thanks.

[Ross]

Hello Nyamera,

 

Ross, Amboseli is another park I haven’t visited, but have to visit. I’ve just found Cynthia Moss’s “Elephant Memories” at a second-hand bookshop. Your zebra and elephant pictures illustrate perfectly the contrasts of the park. Though I’ve seen pictures where it’s much greener. Thanks.

 

I was at Amboseli during the dry season.

When we were driving through the area where the zebras were photographed, our guide pointed out that during the wet season the area is a shallow lake and can not be driven through.

I will be visiting Amboseli in July this year which will be at the end of the wet season and I am looking forward to seeing the diference between the two diferent seasons.

Another reason for going back in July is that in October there's a lot of dust in the air and I could not get a decent photo of Mt Kilimanjaro. Hopefully in July there won't be too much dust.

 

Ross

[Atravelynn]

You saw an elephant birth!? Oh my goodness! If a zebra and a couple of lionesses can bring tears to your eyes, I can only imagine your reaction to the birth of an elephant. Even without that spectacle of nature that you witnessed, I understand how an entire year later you can still bein the grips of Africa and nursing fond memories. That's wonderful you're going back!

[Guest nyama]

If looking at Harvey Croze's blog entry 'Overdevelopment' around Amboseli it appears to me as Amboseli is going the same way as the Mara or Samburu.

[Ross]

You saw an elephant birth!? Oh my goodness! If a zebra and a couple of lionesses can bring tears to your eyes, I can only imagine your reaction to the birth of an elephant. Even without that spectacle of nature that you witnessed, I understand how an entire year later you can still bein the grips of Africa and nursing fond memories. That's wonderful you're going back!

 

Am I missing something here?

 

Who saw an elephant birth and where???

[Ross]

Nyama,

If looking at Harvey Croze's blog entry 'Overdevelopment' around Amboseli it appears to me as Amboseli is going the same way as the Mara or Samburu.

 

When I was at both the Mara and Amboseli, our guide insisted on showing us diferent lodges around the parks.

I, personally don't have any interest in "luxury" lodges what so ever but I am glad that I have seen them for now I am aware of what is happening.

Besides not having interested in lodges, I also made sure that what ever money I spent was going to the local people.

If the borders of the park and corridors for the animals are being interfered with, then one must think about the real reason why they are there and who is responsible??

 

Of course Governments also need to be questioned!

 

Thanks for the article!

 

Ross